A guy, a campfire, and a can of beans

Or, that didn’t last long.

When Frosty, Heidi and Frank decided to do a daily show, they were hardcore. Frank and Heidi showed up at Frosty’s house at 6:00am and waited for Frosty to stumble out of his cave in his underwear. Then they recorded the show and had it posted at 10.

Theoretically.

Technical difficulties postponed the availability of the show more than once, Smees was on the verge of getting fired, FHF fans were refreshing iTunes like lunatics. It was bad times.

In order to circumvent these issues, they decided to record the show in the afternoon and make it available first thing in the morning. Sounds like a fine idea. But wait, the technical problems are not really the reason for the schedule change.

Turns out they just want to drink at work.

Where the paid off home mortgage has taken the place of the BMW as the status symbol of choice

So remember all those times I called nationally syndicated talk shows lame, bland, boring, stupid, annoying, and low-end? I forgot to mention there was an exception.

Sorry, Mark Levin fans, it’s not your guy. It’s not Rush or Hannity or Glenn Beck or George Noory. No, party people, it’s not even John and Jeff.

It’s Dave Ramsey.

(As far as I can tell, Dave’s not on in LA but you can subscribe to the one-hour podcast on iTunes or stream all three hours on the website or listen on XM/Sirius.)

If you’re unemployed, under-employed, starting your own business, or in debt (yes, car payments and student loans count as debt), if you’re trapped in a dead-end job with no real chance to get ahead, you need to listen to this show.

Technically, it’s a show about money. I know that sounds boring, but Dave Ramsey is so much more than that. It’s about taking control of your life. It’s about personal responsibility and making a difference. It’s about killing something and dragging it home.

In the exact opposite way that KFI makes you feel like the world is collapsing around you and all you can do is climb in your bunker and wait for the inevitable end, Dave Ramsey makes you feel empowered, like there’s absolutely nothing but sweat and hard work standing in the way of you and that $3,000 (no dental insurance) orthodontist bill.

In short, it gives you hope. And isn’t that what we all need?

The Oso Loco Strikes Back

Quick Lara Hermanson update…

She’s not going public about why she got fired, but I don’t think it has to do with the Armenians.

There is a another new Lara Hermanson weekly podcast. This is not PodKatz, which she does with her boyfriend, the giant male unemployed nurse. This one is being distributed by Podfather Studios (Randy, is that your official business name?) and is available right now on the Pretty Good Podcast site. (Lara’s new site is under construction but check again soon.)

Once upon a time, there was a lonely boy named Edward…

At one point he was very, very funny and very well educated

No guests, no topics, no screeners, no goofy sound effects, no pre-recorded comedy, no scripts, planted callers or contrived viewpoints. Armed only with the mighty microphones of KABC…

Shoot. That’s totally wrong and I can’t remember the rest.

There was a time – let’s call it my entire 20s – when I could have easily recited that introduction. It is, of course, the introduction to the now-defunct Mr. KABC show.

Though I’m sure he wasn’t the first casualty in this “Let’s Fire All the Local Talk Radio Hosts and Switch To Lame, Non-DJ Music or Just Pick Up One of Those Sensational, Boring, and Uninteresting Nationally Syndicated Talk Shows, Listeners Are Stupid – They Won’t Know the Difference, It’s Cheaper” movement, Mr. KFI/Mr. KABC/Mr. KTLK/Marc Germain’s departure from traditional radio was the first that affected me personally.

Marc was also the first host (in my world) to move his show to the Internet. Talk Radio One recently celebrated its first anniversary. Let’s discuss.

Here’s what Marc (I do still feel a little weird calling him Marc, even in writing) does right…

* Live streaming every night 8-10pm Pacific. (Podcast available soon after.)

* Non-Skype phone calls. (You call a real phone number from a real phone.)

* Contributor Dina Losito. (Seriously, you should listen to the show just to check Dina out. She’s super smart and funny and quick and all kinds of other adjectives.)

Here’s one complaint (there had to be one, right?)…

* Podcasts are not available via iTunes. (Marc wants as many people as possible looking at his website. I get it. I think there’s a way to encourage web traffic as well as using iTunes, but I get it.)

Why does the sun keep burning bright? Where does my shadow go at night? What is e=mc2? Why does rap music make me scared? Where’s a place to buy good clothes? Why are these hairs inside my nose? Is zirconia a gem? What makes the clocks blink 12am?

A Podcast Home Companion

Well, it’s been a quiet week in Lake Wobegon, Minnesota, my hometown, out on the edge of the prairie.  It was just beautiful last weekend when Gina Grad, a good Jewish girl from Lake Wobegon Lutheran Church, got a flat tire in South Central at 1:30 in the morning. She’d been to a play called Shorts and Sweets, starring her friend Becky, and was making her way down the dusty dirt road that leads to a majestic place called Echo Park when she heard a strange noise.

It was a thump-thump-thumping noise that could not be ignored by simply increasing the volume on the radio. It was a noise that sped up when she sped up, and slowed down when she slowed down.  It was a noise that said to her, “Gina, you should have joined that automobile club last month.”

The night was misty and dark and cold, but, before long, Gina looked to her left and saw a kindly gentleman giving her the old Grey Poupon window charade. Delighted though she was for this modern-day knight in shining armor, Gina placed an urgent cellular phone call to her sweetheart, a man she affectionately refers to as “Not-Boyfriend.”

Now this kindly stranger did his Lutheran best to comfort Miss Gina in her time of trouble. He told her his name, he told her where he lives, where he attends church (every Sunday and every Wednesday night). He told her about his ten sisters and two daughters, and about his beautiful wife…who, tragically, has recently taken up with a cowboy from Colorado.

Try as he might, this kindly stranger could not dislodge the tire jack from Miss Gina’s trunk. He was most humbled and apologetic at his failure and offered to follow Miss Gina to the fork in the road, where Gina would veer left and continue her slow, hobbling journey to Echo Park, while he, the kindly gentleman, would go right. Right home to his beautiful wife, who recently took up with a cowboy from Colorado, and his ten sisters and two daughters.

Despite the misty and dark and cold night, the three good tires and the one flat one, Miss Gina’s sweetheart Not-Boyfriend kept her company on the way home. By the miracle of cellular technology, Not-Boyfriend whispered sweet nothings and strong words of encouragement to Miss Gina until she made it safely home. Home to the security of her apartment, where there were many toasters and cats and bottles of water waiting for her.

And that’s the news from Lake Wobegon, where all the women are hot effin chicks, all the men are major studs, and all the children are above average.

Better than most, not as good as some, at 7:29 on a Wednesday night

Or, The Almost Live Podcast.

Or, The Day and Date Podcast.

This is my morning routine. Wake up at 5:00 and turn on the Bill Handel Show. (Trust me, I would love to listen to Doug McIntyre instead, but, unfortunately, I still have both original hips.) Then at 6:00 switch over to KLSX to hear the beginning of the Adam Carolla Show.

Wait. Cancel. That was before.

Then at 6:00 fire up that iTunes and start downloading podcasts.

Is there a new Pretty Good Podcast? A new Brian Whitman podcast? Who is the guest on today’s Adam Carolla podcast? Some guy from the UFC? I’ll pass. Some random comedian? Maybe. I’ll see how the day progresses. Teresa Strasser and Bald Bryan? Yes, please!

Recently Adam started experimenting with what he calls the “day and date” podcast. This is an almost live show recorded (I think) the previous night and is a vast improvement over the nebulous, out-of-order-and-who-knows-how-old shows of yore, though still slightly submariney sounding. (How’s that for some alliteration?)

And, in case you’ve gone out of your way to avoid a lot of information, you already know that Frosty, Heidi and Frank are doing an “almost live” podcast as well. They took my advice (ha!) and started recording their shows from Rudy Dog Studios at Frosty’s house. Every single weekday. At, like, 6:00 in the morning.

And, just like the old days almost like the old days, FHF is ready for you at 10.

Five foot two, eyes of blue, but oh what those five foot two could do…

Sorry Suzanne, your radio boyfriend is done with talk radio or talk radio might be done with him

So last week I decided to subscribe to John Ziegler’s podcast. I caught up on some old episodes. I remembered why I liked John. I heard a fascinating story about his fiance returning her engagement ring for, oh nothing, the FIFTH time. Good times.

And then, before you can say “I heart Sarah Palin,” he flamed out.

Bad vibes, man.

Unlike KABC (who did not podcast Al Rantel’s final show), KGIL has made John Ziegler’s final show (8/14/09) available to download. Hurry on over to iTunes before they pull it.

I’m getting extremely tired of writing about the demise of local talk radio shows. I’m getting extremely frustrated with Los Angeles talk radio stations selling out to bland nationally syndicated nonsense. And I’m getting extremely weary of the “it’s cheaper” excuse.

And if KGIL cancels its fishing show, I’m just going to explode! (Seriously, there’s a fishing show?)

Interjections show excitement or emotion

Or, Brian David Whitman, look at you, maaan. A major, major stud. The number one voice guy in industrials, maaan.

Let’s set aside the recent unpleasantness for a fun post – Schoolhouse Rock! style.

Hurray! Brian David Whitman has a brand new podcast!

Awww! Look at that Randy Wang, helping out his old pal Whitman!

Eeeek! On the first episode they played clips from Brian’s infamous last show on KLSX!

Rats! Lara’s still fired!

Wow! It’s free!

Hey! There have already been two episodes, plus a smattering of appearances on other podcasts!

Darn, that’s the end.

P.S. Lara Hermanson’s blog